Theory: Plane Found in Everglades is from Flight 19
By Andy Marocco
4/1/2014
Version 4
Come with us to the Florida Everglades in search of a WWII plane that was discovered 25 years ago, but has never been identified, until now. Recently discovered facts from the 1945 Naval Report and circumstantial evidence make a strong and extremely compelling case that the “unknown” wreck in the Everglades is in fact, Lt. Charles Taylors TBM-3 (FT-28) from the “legendary” Flight 19, that vanished 69 years ago.
Back in April 2012, I bought a book called the Discovery of Flight 19 (2012), written by Jon Myhre. Being a student of Flight 19 for over 25 years, I felt compelled to reach out and contact Jon to discuss some of his theories. I told him I remembered seeing him and the TBM Avenger he raised from the Ocean off Cape Canaveral on the news and Unsolved Mysteries back in 1991. Little did I know that we would be come friends and colleagues some 25 years later?
One day, I was working on my discovery of new information (for my upcoming book on Flight 19) that other researchers had seemingly no knowledge of. (This information is too technical to elaborate on at this point and has little relevance to this current theory in front of the reader.)
Wanting to share my discovery, I cautiously approached Jon and dropped my bombshell. He was surprised by all the new info. He asked how did you find that? I said I recently acquired a .pdf file of all 500+ pages of the 1945 Board of Investigation Report on the loss of Flight 19, from the National Archives. He told me, “He never saw any of that before” and I replied,” It’s all there, in black and white”.
Obviously, this information had the capacity to challenge every conclusion that Flight 19 researchers based their theories on. So I felt it would be wise to go back and
re-read Larry Kusche book, “The Disappearance of Flight 19 (1980) ” and Gian Quasar’s book, “They Flew Into Oblivion” (2010).
It was at this point that I digressed and found an interesting fact that both books mentioned. A radar sighting of 4-6 planes over land was made by an aircraft carrier, the USS Solomons, at 7pm on the night that Flight 19 disappeared.
Referring back to the 1945 Board of Investigation Report on the Loss of Flight 19,
I was able to find it several places throughout. It said;
“FOUR TO SIX PLANES - NO IFF - AT 1900 - LAT 2935 - LONG 8128 COURSE 170 - SPEED 120 - ESTIMATED ALTITUDE 4000 FEET”
That’s when I had an epiphany. Using the HF/DF fix of Flight 19 at 5:50pm: Coordinated 29 15’ N and 79 00’ W.
I drew a line from this point (279 degrees) to the 7:00pm coordinates of the radar sighting made by the USS Solomon’s (CVE-67), mentioned above.
The distance between the two points is 131 NM (151 Miles) Using the estimated speed of 135 knots (155 mph), it would mean that Flight 19 would take, only 58 minutes to travel this distance. This is not a coincidence.
Using the course heading of 170 from the Solomon’s radar fix, I drew a straight line to the bottom of Florida. Now I had a good place to start from to figure out where Flight 19 could have disappeared. I couldn’t help but notice that this track bisected the Everglades.
I had remembered that Jon Myhre once told me that in 1989 an “unknown” TBM Avenger was found, but it was determined at that time, by the experts, not to be related to Flight 19. As a matter of fact Jon Myhre was one of those experts, who said “ I’m 99.9 percent sure it has nothing to do with Flight 19”.
Not knowing where the actual location of the “unknown” Avenger was, I asked Jon if he had remembered where it was. He said it was near alligator alley, but to be exact he would have to look through his old newspaper articles.
The old articles gave very generic locations so we decided to contact Bob Lester the actual Broward County Sheriff helicopter pilot who discovered the wreck back in May 1989. He said the location was 1 mile East of the Miami Canal and about 1 mile North of Alligator Alley. Another Sheriff Posse member, Butch Stokes backed up this location as well.
Unfortunately, as of today, we have still not been successful in relocating the actual wreck site. However, we do have an important piece of evidence. A videotape shot by Bob Lester and Butch Stokes that dates back to only a few weeks after it’s discovery in I989. This 45-minute video shows in great detail the various parts of the aircraft and exploration throughout the wreck site. Many clues are within this footage, which will address in shortly.
The general location of the “unknown” TBM Avenger was only 8.8 NM (10 miles) East of the 170 Course at 167 degrees only 3 degrees off.
Using the speed of the USS Solomons’ Radar Fix of 120 knots (138 mph) it would have taken 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the Everglades crash site. Therefore, FT-28 would have crashed at approximately 8:45 pm. Since the planes took off at 2:10 pm, the total flight time would have been 6 hours and 35 minutes.
However, the Navy said that Flight 19 would have only had enough fuel to stay airborne until 8pm. This would seem to present a problem, since my theory would mean that the planes would need to fly an additional 45 minutes past 8 pm fuel window.
On face value this doesn’t look logical, but the reported fuel estimates from the 1945 investigation overlooked some critical calculations.
Thanks to Jon Myhres arithmetic. The TBM-3 Avenger had a total fuel capacity of 325 gallons. And according to testimony all aircraft of Flight 19 were filled to the top of the tanks. This amount of gas, coupled with the 6 hours and 35 minutes of total flight time, equals an hourly burn rate of 50 gallons per hour. According to the Performance charts in the Pilot’s Manual, the Avengers range could in fact be extended, if the pilots were to “throttling back” thus conserving fuel. This seems to have occurred based between the 135 knots (155 mph) speed from the HF/DF Fix to Solomons Radar Fix and then from the Solomons Radar Fix to the crash site of the Everglades at a speed of 120 knots (138 mph).
At this juncture, we have enough facts and calculations to say that at least one of the planes from Flight 19 was headed to and had the ability to reach the crash site of the “unknown” TBM Avenger discovered in the Everglades back in 1989.
The next equation is how do you connect evidence of the unknown TBM Avenger with that of a plane from Flight 19?
By examining the 1989 videotape of the wreck site and after doing lots of research, I was able to discover the following information that was unknown until now. Let’s look at the evidence that circumstantial proves that the aircraft belongs to Flight 19.
1. The plane found was a TBM-3 Avenger. We know this to be true, due to fact that the pilot’s instrument panel that was found at the wreck site was unique to this Avenger model only.
2. Some 25 years after the unknown Avenger was discovered, the Navy has been unable to identify this aircraft.
3. An ARB Radio Receiver (CRV-46151) found at the wreck site, dates back to the WWII era. This fits the timeframe of Flight 19’s disappearance in December 1945. This specific type of radio was known to be equipped on FT-28 Charles Taylor TBM-3 Avenger according to the Naval report.
4. An ID tag was found at the wreck site that read MT-284/ART-13. This is a "Mounting Base" for an ART-13 (aka ATC) Communications Radio, which was also installed on Taylor TBM-3 Avenger according to the Naval report.
5. A shoe heel was found at the wreck from a company called "HOOD" Suprex (brand name of type of rubber, see attached photo). This type of heel was advertised in the mid 1930s, so it also fits the WWII era. Of significance, the shoe size of the heel says 11-12, which would match up to a man who was approximately 6 feet tall. Charles Taylor was 6’1”. That heel was made for a dress shoe, not a boot. Because Taylor was a flight instructor, as well as an officer, it was not an uncommon thing for them to wear a dress shoe while flying, especially in a tropical climate on training missions
6. And finally the smoking gun. I was able to attain Aircraft Accident Reports on microfilm from the Naval Aviation Safety Center. After viewing several hundred accident reports, I can say that the Navy has no record of a TBM-3 Avenger missing in or around Florida between 1944 and 1952 — other than Charles Taylor's plane.
Taking everything into account, I believe that the facts and circumstantial evidence at this time make a strong and extremely compelling case that the “unknown” wreck in the Everglades is in fact, Lt. Charles Taylors TBM-3 (FT-28) of Flight 19.
The real tragedy is that this plane was only 35 miles and 15 minutes from landing back at its base in Ft. Lauderdale.
NOTE: 4/8/2014 - I have identified this aircraft wreck as BuNo: 53118 (Theory debunked....at this time)
4/1/2014
Version 4
Come with us to the Florida Everglades in search of a WWII plane that was discovered 25 years ago, but has never been identified, until now. Recently discovered facts from the 1945 Naval Report and circumstantial evidence make a strong and extremely compelling case that the “unknown” wreck in the Everglades is in fact, Lt. Charles Taylors TBM-3 (FT-28) from the “legendary” Flight 19, that vanished 69 years ago.
Back in April 2012, I bought a book called the Discovery of Flight 19 (2012), written by Jon Myhre. Being a student of Flight 19 for over 25 years, I felt compelled to reach out and contact Jon to discuss some of his theories. I told him I remembered seeing him and the TBM Avenger he raised from the Ocean off Cape Canaveral on the news and Unsolved Mysteries back in 1991. Little did I know that we would be come friends and colleagues some 25 years later?
One day, I was working on my discovery of new information (for my upcoming book on Flight 19) that other researchers had seemingly no knowledge of. (This information is too technical to elaborate on at this point and has little relevance to this current theory in front of the reader.)
Wanting to share my discovery, I cautiously approached Jon and dropped my bombshell. He was surprised by all the new info. He asked how did you find that? I said I recently acquired a .pdf file of all 500+ pages of the 1945 Board of Investigation Report on the loss of Flight 19, from the National Archives. He told me, “He never saw any of that before” and I replied,” It’s all there, in black and white”.
Obviously, this information had the capacity to challenge every conclusion that Flight 19 researchers based their theories on. So I felt it would be wise to go back and
re-read Larry Kusche book, “The Disappearance of Flight 19 (1980) ” and Gian Quasar’s book, “They Flew Into Oblivion” (2010).
It was at this point that I digressed and found an interesting fact that both books mentioned. A radar sighting of 4-6 planes over land was made by an aircraft carrier, the USS Solomons, at 7pm on the night that Flight 19 disappeared.
Referring back to the 1945 Board of Investigation Report on the Loss of Flight 19,
I was able to find it several places throughout. It said;
“FOUR TO SIX PLANES - NO IFF - AT 1900 - LAT 2935 - LONG 8128 COURSE 170 - SPEED 120 - ESTIMATED ALTITUDE 4000 FEET”
That’s when I had an epiphany. Using the HF/DF fix of Flight 19 at 5:50pm: Coordinated 29 15’ N and 79 00’ W.
I drew a line from this point (279 degrees) to the 7:00pm coordinates of the radar sighting made by the USS Solomon’s (CVE-67), mentioned above.
The distance between the two points is 131 NM (151 Miles) Using the estimated speed of 135 knots (155 mph), it would mean that Flight 19 would take, only 58 minutes to travel this distance. This is not a coincidence.
Using the course heading of 170 from the Solomon’s radar fix, I drew a straight line to the bottom of Florida. Now I had a good place to start from to figure out where Flight 19 could have disappeared. I couldn’t help but notice that this track bisected the Everglades.
I had remembered that Jon Myhre once told me that in 1989 an “unknown” TBM Avenger was found, but it was determined at that time, by the experts, not to be related to Flight 19. As a matter of fact Jon Myhre was one of those experts, who said “ I’m 99.9 percent sure it has nothing to do with Flight 19”.
Not knowing where the actual location of the “unknown” Avenger was, I asked Jon if he had remembered where it was. He said it was near alligator alley, but to be exact he would have to look through his old newspaper articles.
The old articles gave very generic locations so we decided to contact Bob Lester the actual Broward County Sheriff helicopter pilot who discovered the wreck back in May 1989. He said the location was 1 mile East of the Miami Canal and about 1 mile North of Alligator Alley. Another Sheriff Posse member, Butch Stokes backed up this location as well.
Unfortunately, as of today, we have still not been successful in relocating the actual wreck site. However, we do have an important piece of evidence. A videotape shot by Bob Lester and Butch Stokes that dates back to only a few weeks after it’s discovery in I989. This 45-minute video shows in great detail the various parts of the aircraft and exploration throughout the wreck site. Many clues are within this footage, which will address in shortly.
The general location of the “unknown” TBM Avenger was only 8.8 NM (10 miles) East of the 170 Course at 167 degrees only 3 degrees off.
Using the speed of the USS Solomons’ Radar Fix of 120 knots (138 mph) it would have taken 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the Everglades crash site. Therefore, FT-28 would have crashed at approximately 8:45 pm. Since the planes took off at 2:10 pm, the total flight time would have been 6 hours and 35 minutes.
However, the Navy said that Flight 19 would have only had enough fuel to stay airborne until 8pm. This would seem to present a problem, since my theory would mean that the planes would need to fly an additional 45 minutes past 8 pm fuel window.
On face value this doesn’t look logical, but the reported fuel estimates from the 1945 investigation overlooked some critical calculations.
Thanks to Jon Myhres arithmetic. The TBM-3 Avenger had a total fuel capacity of 325 gallons. And according to testimony all aircraft of Flight 19 were filled to the top of the tanks. This amount of gas, coupled with the 6 hours and 35 minutes of total flight time, equals an hourly burn rate of 50 gallons per hour. According to the Performance charts in the Pilot’s Manual, the Avengers range could in fact be extended, if the pilots were to “throttling back” thus conserving fuel. This seems to have occurred based between the 135 knots (155 mph) speed from the HF/DF Fix to Solomons Radar Fix and then from the Solomons Radar Fix to the crash site of the Everglades at a speed of 120 knots (138 mph).
At this juncture, we have enough facts and calculations to say that at least one of the planes from Flight 19 was headed to and had the ability to reach the crash site of the “unknown” TBM Avenger discovered in the Everglades back in 1989.
The next equation is how do you connect evidence of the unknown TBM Avenger with that of a plane from Flight 19?
By examining the 1989 videotape of the wreck site and after doing lots of research, I was able to discover the following information that was unknown until now. Let’s look at the evidence that circumstantial proves that the aircraft belongs to Flight 19.
1. The plane found was a TBM-3 Avenger. We know this to be true, due to fact that the pilot’s instrument panel that was found at the wreck site was unique to this Avenger model only.
2. Some 25 years after the unknown Avenger was discovered, the Navy has been unable to identify this aircraft.
3. An ARB Radio Receiver (CRV-46151) found at the wreck site, dates back to the WWII era. This fits the timeframe of Flight 19’s disappearance in December 1945. This specific type of radio was known to be equipped on FT-28 Charles Taylor TBM-3 Avenger according to the Naval report.
4. An ID tag was found at the wreck site that read MT-284/ART-13. This is a "Mounting Base" for an ART-13 (aka ATC) Communications Radio, which was also installed on Taylor TBM-3 Avenger according to the Naval report.
5. A shoe heel was found at the wreck from a company called "HOOD" Suprex (brand name of type of rubber, see attached photo). This type of heel was advertised in the mid 1930s, so it also fits the WWII era. Of significance, the shoe size of the heel says 11-12, which would match up to a man who was approximately 6 feet tall. Charles Taylor was 6’1”. That heel was made for a dress shoe, not a boot. Because Taylor was a flight instructor, as well as an officer, it was not an uncommon thing for them to wear a dress shoe while flying, especially in a tropical climate on training missions
6. And finally the smoking gun. I was able to attain Aircraft Accident Reports on microfilm from the Naval Aviation Safety Center. After viewing several hundred accident reports, I can say that the Navy has no record of a TBM-3 Avenger missing in or around Florida between 1944 and 1952 — other than Charles Taylor's plane.
Taking everything into account, I believe that the facts and circumstantial evidence at this time make a strong and extremely compelling case that the “unknown” wreck in the Everglades is in fact, Lt. Charles Taylors TBM-3 (FT-28) of Flight 19.
The real tragedy is that this plane was only 35 miles and 15 minutes from landing back at its base in Ft. Lauderdale.
NOTE: 4/8/2014 - I have identified this aircraft wreck as BuNo: 53118 (Theory debunked....at this time)